FG Introduces NIN Tokens To Protect Data Privacy
The federal government has introduced virtual national identification number (NIN) tokens.
This was revealed by the minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, while speaking at a stakeholders workshop on the ‘NIN Tokenization Solution’ organised by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on Wednesday in Abuja.
It was gathered that the virtual NIN is a tokenised version of a person’s actual NIN, which another party verifying the number cannot retain and use in a way that puts the individual’s data privacy at risk.
It expires 72 hours after being generated.
Nigerians can use the virtual NIN when verifying their identity with an agent or enterprise that needs to confirm their identity before offering them a service (banks, airports, shopping delivery, among others).
Speaking at the event, the minister said NIN tokenisation is aimed at protecting the personal information of citizens.
He stated that full implementation would begin next year.
According to him, “The Federal Government has adopted the solution to ensure the privacy of personally identifiable information of individuals during verification transactions and to reduce incidences of illegal retrieval, usage, transfer, and storage of NIN. Full implementation commences 1st January 2022″.
